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Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship

Research & Mentoring

Each Fellow is required to complete an individual research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor, in their major discipline, by the end of their senior year. At Haverford College, this research experience often coincides with the completion of the Senior Thesis requirement for all graduating seniors.

Guided research and intensive academic mentoring are the hallmarks of the MMUF program, intended to serve as the foundations for preparing students for graduate study. Each Fellow is paired with a faculty mentor with whom the Fellow is expected to meet on a regular basis. The intensive mentoring process represents a serious commitment of time and effort for both Fellows and mentors. In addition, the MMUF Faculty Coordinator will be in ongoing conversation with faculty mentors to ensure the active engagement of all Fellows in this process, and to facilitate the productivity of all participants towards a successful outcome of the mentoring process.

Fellows are required to participate in all MMUF programs and events including:

  • Bi-weekly cohort meetings during the academic year
  • Regular meetings with your mentor and the MMUF Faculty Coordinator
  • Regional and national gatherings of MMUF Fellows
  • Workshops, activities, and programs as assigned

Fellows must give evidence of attending to the achievement of postgraduate career goals. If at any time during your junior and senior years, you realize that a postgraduate/academic career is not for you, please consider leaving the program so that someone else whose goals truly match those of the program may have the opportunity to benefit from it.

  • Being a Fellow

    Orientation

    New Fellows attend an orientation at the end of the spring semester, shortly after being admitted into the program. During the orientation, Fellows will receive an in-depth introduction to the workings of the program and the resources available to them as undergraduate and graduate students. They will also begin building relationships with their cohort and the rising cohort.

    Study Abroad

    MMUF students are strongly encouraged to study abroad. During this stay abroad, they must communicate regularly with their faculty mentor and MMUF Program Coordinators.

    First Summer

    Fellows are strongly encouraged to spend their first summer (the summer following their sophomore year) attending one of the MMUF Summer Research Training Programs (SRTPs). We recommend the nine-week program at the University of Chicago, but there are several other options.

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  • Junior Year

    Fellows are required to attend bi-weekly meetings organized and moderated by the MMUF Program Coordinators throughout the academic year. These gatherings will include workshops offered on various topics relevant to the Fellows’ academic and professional goals, including writing and research skills; proposal writing skills; public speaking and interview skills; and navigating social and professional codes of life in academia.

    Fall Semester

    At the first MMUF meeting of the fall semester, Fellows will deliver an informal oral report on their summer research training courses and projects. Fellows will submit a short, written report by September 30 describing and documenting their summer research experience and outcomes.

    During the fall semester, Fellows will participate in the MMUF Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, along with Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and Princeton University. Each year, one school hosts the MMUF Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, at which all undergraduate Fellows present papers and serve as moderators and discussants of their peers’ academic research. Participation and presentation of research at the annual Regional Conference by Fellows is required.

    Spring Semester

    By May 1, Fellows are required to submit a proposal for summer research following their junior year. Fellows are required to either attend a Research Training Program, or obtain an internship or engage in a research project related to their senior thesis.. The MMUF Faculty Coordinator, in conjunction with the Fellow’s faculty mentor (and thesis advisor if different from mentor), will help identify projects and research programs.

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  • Senior Year

    Fall Semester

    At the end of the semester, Fellows will submit their senior thesis proposal.

    GRE Prep

    Haverford MMUF Fellows join the Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore cohorts for 18 hours of GRE prep classes through Bell Curves.

    Spring Semester

    Senior Fellows are required to deliver a public presentation at the end of the second semester of their senior year on their senior research project. Fellows will also be expected to prepare a personal statement for graduate school, regardless of whether they are applying or not.

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